TRACES to rock Macomb Center for the Performing Arts

TRACES combines awe-inspiring acrobatics with infectious urban energy. Entertainment Weekly hailed it as, "The most fun and memorable 90 minutes you will have all year."  Time Out NY gave TRACES its highest "FIVE STARS" rating, describing it as a thrilling modern brand of circus with a street smart twist and TIME Magazine has named TRACES among the Top Ten Plays and Musicals of 2011. Fun for the entire family, you won't want to miss this "must-see" event Saturday, February 9, at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. at the Macomb Center for the Performing Arts - special student pricing, $20 tickets.

Fusing the traditions of circus with the energy of street performance, the artists of TRACES employ every trick in the book—from music, dance, and illustration to skateboarding, basketball, and high-risk acrobatics—to make a lasting impression. TRACES, which has been called "a whole new kind of awe-inspiring theatre" (NBC TV), is spectacularly anti-spectacle, relying instead on the fantastic abilities of the performers, individuals who appear to be nothing more than a group of friends, just as easygoing, affable, and potentially clumsy as the guy next door—until they unleash ninety minutes of heart-stopping acrobatics and unbridled energy that leave audiences breathless and exhilarated. TRACES is the ultimate affirmation of life and a celebration of the particular talents of endearing young artists so eager to please that they literally jump through hoops for you. 

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TRACES takes place in a make-shift shelter, an unknown catastrophe waiting outside the doors of tarp and gaffer tape. The seven characters constructed this clubhouse to live to the fullest what they believe could be their last moments, hoping to leave nothing unsaid or undone. In the face of this impending disaster they have determined that creation is the only antidote to destruction, and their brand of creation is the fleeting impulses and desires that extend through their bodies and unfurl onto stage - the story is told through music, song, dance, speech, illustration, and high-risk acrobatics. The characters use every mode of expression available to them, hoping to leave a lasting mark… to leave their traces as best they can.
As they tell the stories of their past and share their various personal strengths and weaknesses, the audience gets to know these seven performers from every possible angle. The familiarity grows, and the acrobatics - a seemingly "inhuman" element - takes on a startlingly human nature. At its heart, TRACES celebrates seven individuals, their particular bond and their particular talents; their risk-taking; the ultimate affirmation of life; and their unbridled energy, proof of a collective pounding pulse. 

Stripping away everything you thought you knew about the big top, TRACES fuses the traditions of circus with the energy of street performance to create an explosive display of emotion and physicality set to the music of Radiohead, VAST, Blackalicious, and more. 

TRACES features creative direction by 7 Fingers (Les 7 Doigts de la Main), and direction and choreography by Shana Carroll and Gypsy Snider. TRACES is performed by Mason Ames, Valérie Benôit-Charbonneau, Mathieu Cloutier, Bradley Henderson, Phillipe Normand-Jenny, Xia Zhengqi, and Florian Zumkehr with alternate cast members Héloïse Bourgeois, Sen Lin, and William Underwood. 

Les 7 Doigts de la Main translates literally as "the 7 fingers of the hand." It is a twist on a French idiom ("the five fingers of the hand") used to describe distinct parts united tightly, moving in coordination towards one common goal. Here it refers to the seven founding directors of the company (Shana Carroll, Isabelle Chasse, Patrick Léonard, Faon Shane, Gypsy Snider, Sébastien Soldevila and Samuel Tétreault) who, by combining their distinct talents and experiences, work towards their common artistic goals with the beautifully awkward dexterity of a 7-fingered hand.

Tickets are $52 gold circle, $47 house and $20 student. (Seniors 55+ and military save $5 on gold circle and house tickets). Purchase tickets in person at the Macomb Center box office Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. and Friday 12 - 6 p.m.  The Macomb Center for the Performing Arts is located on Macomb Community College's Center Campus at 44575 Garfield Road in Clinton Township, Michigan 48038.  Tickets and additional information, including a complete season schedule, are available online at www.MacombCenter.com or by calling 586.286.2222.

TRACES is sponsored in part by C & G Newspapers and the Macomb Center's premiere sponsors for the 2012 -2013 season The Real Yellow Pages and The Macomb Daily. 

The Macomb Center for the Performing Arts is a community enrichment program of Macomb Community College dedicated to providing a diverse range of family-oriented cultural enrichment experiences.  The Macomb Center presents high-quality professional performances, offers educational outreach in the arts and, in partnership with the adjacent Albert L. Lorenzo Cultural Center, creates unique opportunities for multifaceted cultural